Books by Michael Edmondson

The Relevance of the Humanities to the 21st Century Workplace provides a blueprint for higher education faculty, boards, presidents, senior leaders, parents, students, recent graduates, and other stakeholders. Upon examining the state of humanities today, it becomes rather obvious that six disconnects exists. Colleges have done a poor job helping people outside the academy understand the terms liberal arts, humanities, liberal education, and liberal arts colleges (The Explanation Disconnect). Liberal arts and humanities faculty, as well as presidents, boards, and other stakeholders misunderstand the relevance of the humanities to the workplace (The Comprehension Disconnect). Higher education institutions need to improve how humanities majors translate their value to the marketplace (The Translation Disconnect). Administrators, faculty, and staff need to think differently and provide humanities majors with a modern perspective on career opportunities (The Perception Disconnect). In order for humanities majors to maintain relevance in the 21st century workplace, institutions need to teach students the dynamics involved with pursuing a vocation (The Vocation Disconnect). Finally, institutions need to help humanities majors increase their self-awareness in order for them to engage in self-determination and prepare for life after college accordingly (The Cultivation Disconnect).

In today's hyper-connected, dynamic, and ever changing global marketplace, storytelling is the new strategic imperative for organizations that want to achieve and sustain growth. The power of narrative, however, is built upon the foundation of strategic thinking and writing. As technology has democratized the power to share stories with the world, succeeding in today's age of collaborative commerce demands that leaders on all levels develop and enhance the business competency of storytelling built on strategic thinking and writing in order to drive customer engagement, enhance business performance, and remain relevant. Perhaps nowhere is the evidence of storytelling more prevalent than Amazon. In his 2018 annual letter, Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos repeated his rule that PowerPoint is banned in executive meetings. Bezos replaced PowerPoint slides with a six page narrative that executives prepare. The start of each meeting involves attendees reading the six page narrative for 30 minutes followed by a discussion. Writing the six page memo requires research, time, and multiple revisions. The six page memo also requires one to think and write strategically. That's where this publication can help. Part one consists of three chapters that focus on examining the various definitions associated with thinking and the process of strategic thinking. Part two shifts the attention towards strategic writing and provides the reader with a step-by-step guide on how to create a clear, concise, and compelling six page memo.

To improve an individual's capacity to process information, the self-help genre has a tremendous need for a publication that both summarizes the latest research and provides case studies. This book meets both needs and is valuable for any person interested in achieving personal or professional success. Divided into seven chapters, this publication examines the theory and practice of success and includes research from history, psychology, sociology, cognitive neuroscience, animal behavior, and other areas.

This book examines a variety of assumptions prevalent in the mental models of undergraduates, parents, educators, higher education leaders, administrators, and policymakers that cause people to fall into a series of mental traps when selecting a major. Divided into three parts, this publication presents a situational analysis on choosing a college major, dissects the mental models and traps people rely on, and offers a variety of assessments that can help increase one's self-awareness prior to declaring a major.